Dunno about the mysterious knob, but imagine it will become evident very quickly once powered up. The little knurled thumbwheel to the left on the vernier, looks interesting, a stop? I definitely wouldn't worry about the character marks on the table.
There was an authentic looking kiwi 037 replica over here that was the usual monte carlo chop - unfortunately destroyed when a mate's workshop burnt down about 15 years back. More interesting, a genuine one is about too, which I'd imagine you'd know about, I see the guy who owns it occasionally when he's exercising his Indycar. If Maho made a spiral milling accessory, a nice exercise would be the supercharger. :o